Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-07-22
THE ISLE OF SANTA CRUZ.


THE ISLE OF: SANTA CRUZ.
A Bit OF Italy in the Pacinc-The
Charms of a Little Known Spot.
Less thansthirty miles distant from
the western seaboard of these practi-
CAL matter-of-fact United States of
America lies an island; which in the
! picturesque beauty of its scenery and
nationality and language of its inhab-
itants, might almost lead one to be-
Iieve that in some mysterious manner
it had been uprooted from the bosom
Of the classic Mediterranean and trans
planted to the waters of the Pacific.
Like the storied isles of Capri and Is
CHA. its mountains, rising here and
there abruptly from the sea, mirror
their rocky walls, their frowning bat
Elements, their stupedous cliffs in wa
ter as deeply blue, as wonderfully limp
id as that which elicits exciamations of
enthusiastic delight from the tourist
visitors to the Blue grotto. These
mountains blush as warmly to the
morning and evening kisses Of the sun
as those which look down upon the
Bay of Naples; the sky above them is
as rich in coloring as the famous sky
of Italy, and the jewellers in this beau
tiful, almost unknown spot are natives
Of that sunny land.
An Italian fishing boat bore me to
the island. All day we floated almost
idly upon the bosom of a tranquil sea-
The breeze that in the early morning
had gently distended the light canvas
of the quaint lateen sail died away,
having waited us scarce two leagues
from the mainland, and there we lay
basking in the hot sunshine though it
was in December-gazing with placid
enjoyment upon sea and sky and dis
tant mountains and noting the ever
changing wondrous tints that fitted
over each and all of these. Only the
lazy blowing of sleepy whale. the
splashing downward-plunge of bask-
ing shark. affrighted by our vicinity,
the Tapping of the sail, broke now and
then the profound stiffness. Then
long before this had become in the
slightest degree irksome, faint blue
line far, far away drew itself across
the CLASSY whiteness of the ocean, and
at its first breath the gentle breeze
called forth ;rlppling answer from the
bows of our little vessel, and away we
sped toward the distant island.
Higher grow the mountains as we
approach them. Wonderfully beauti-
full they are in the evening light. And
now there is no longer silence. The
roar of the surges breaking against
the rocks, the bowling and barking of
hundreds of sea-lions, the screaming
of thousands of sea birds whose nests
honeycomb the face of the mighty
cliffs, strike upon the ear in most i'm
posing medley of sounds. Now we
can see the line OF white foam marking
the breakers, now note where centur-
les of strife between sea and rock have
worn deep caverns in the latter. into
which the pillows rush with sullen
roar and hollow booming, to emerge
again in clouds of creamy foam and
glistening spray.
One cavern I explored. penetrating
at least forty yards into the base Of the
cliff. The entrance was somewhat
similar to that of the Blue grotto, the
interior much grander, though per-
haps less beautiful. The mighty vault
overhead was supported by number
of pillars so cunningly wrought by ma
ture as to appear to have been fashion
ed by the hand of man. Here, where
the SUMS direct rays were excluded
and the eyes consequently undazzled by
their reflection from the water every
rock and shell, every bit of weed and
moss upon the bottom, though many
fathoms deep, was most distinctly
visible. Huge crawtisl (the Holsters of
the Pacifc) crawled slowly about
through forests of waving seaweed
and over miniature submarine noun
tains in search of their prey. Fishes
innumerable and literally of all the
colors of the rainbow darted hither and
tkither among the rocks 1t was like
q gigantic aquarium without the multi
tude of sightseers and without adj
mission fees.
Casting the net one day under the
shadow of huge overhanging cliff, its
meshes We're plainly visible, suspended
just above the bottom, and the whole
process of the capture of the fish was
distinctly observed. A large school of
smells came flashing through the
depths, flying from some fierce enemy.
doubtless In moment they were
quivering in the treacherous meshes Of
the net, ~, j: =.
Very interesting to observe are the
seals and sealions rearing their human
! like heads above the surface to gaze
with their soft eyes upon the intruder.
Most knowing are these curious crea-
| tures. Often have Iseen them watch
intensely the casting of the net, and
; then dive down and enjoy the feast Of
captured fish struggling in its folds.
Sometimes, however. they pay dearly
for their gluttony BY becoming them.
selves entangled. -. s. \ e &. ~ b
/ The island of Santa Cruz is the prop
! orty Of two len-an Italian and q
Frenchman. Both are residents of
San Francisco. The only use they
make of this piece OF property is ITO
maintain a large number Of sheep upon
it. There are three ranch..s--sinalf
| collections Of houses occupied BY shep-
hersd. These shepherds are all Italians,
| speaking not one word OF English,
! Notwithstanding the. fact that for
| years they have lived under the shad-
ows of the stars and stripes. Many Of
/ them spend years in their island home
without ever crossing to the main-
land. though not thirty miles distant.
The most beautiful feature Of Santa
4 Cruz Is Its 1,ock- bound coast. The va
/ riety Of coloring some q the rock be-
ing 81. the deepest black, some Again
Of almost snowy uhi.eness thesWon-